Henpaw's Medicine Cat Ceremony

It had become clear to both her and Henpaw that Smallbean was destined to never return to WindClan. Just when Daystar believed that they wouldn't have to suffer through any more losses for quite some time. She was unsure of the cause, and whether it was StarClan's revenge or simple bad luck, the she-cat wished that her Clan would be left alone... at least for a few moons. Time was such a precious and finite concept, and it had its own ways of punishing those that dared to face it. Time was what WindClan needed, but as the heartbeats melted into days and the days melted into moons, it seemed to escape their paws before they had any time to bask in it.

The sudden absence of Smallbean meant that Henpaw would be stepping up to take on a full medicine cat name, and the leader was going to be the one to lead her to Highstones to conduct the ceremony. Daystar had trained to become a warrior, and all of the ceremonies that she had held in the past were for cats that would be following the same path, so she had not even the slightest clue of how to hold Henpaw's ceremony in front of StarClan. Her pawsteps were soft and uneasy as she padded over from the comfort of her nest to the medicine den. The sun was present, but the darkness of the night still seemed to dominate the sky as tiny rays of orange and yellow streaked through the clouds to indicate that sunrise was near.

"Good morning, Henpaw." Daystar smiled as she entered the den.
"Today is the big day. Are you excited?"

Juniper. Soothes and calms, treats bellyaches. Paracress. Toothaches. Wintergreen for poison, tormentil for venom, lamb’s ear for stamina, chicory for hunger pains… some of the more out-of-the-way herbs danced before Henpaw’s closed eyes, turning backflips and somersaults. Daystar’s voice woke Henpaw immediately, and the calico sat upright like she’d been struck. After a few moments, she realized what her leader had said. “Excited? I mean… there ain’t gonna be a difference, really… but yeah, I’m excited.” She stood, shaking bits of moss off her pelt and glancing around for the bundles of traveling herbs she kept ready for Moonstone journeys. Pulling them out, she remembered her odd dream and scrunched her nose. Stars, maybe counting herbs wasn’t the best way to fall asleep. She slid Daystar the herbs and chowed down on her own, barely noticing the taste (which had taken some time, ugh). Despite the fact she tried to stay calm and grown-up-like, her tail twitched with pent-up excitement as she stood, a grin on her face. “Let’s get going, yeah?” She hadn’t expected to be excited (maybe sad about her mentor) but she couldn’t help the energy that spread through her like a blossoming plant. She was so ready.

Daystar smiled contentedly as Henpaw admitted her excitement. Today was supposed to be a happy day for her, a day that she would go from being an apprentice to being the full medicine cat of the Clan. The leader decided that she would try her best to remain as happy as possible despite the circumstances and the reason why Henpaw would be gaining a new name today. She gratefully flicked her tail and lowered her maw to lap up the traveling herbs before making a hasty attempt to hide the immediate look of disgust that followed. She was convinced that the taste was something that she would never be able to get used to, no matter how many times she had to eat them.

With a quick and eager nod, she stepped out of the medicine den and padded alongside Henpaw as they headed out of camp. She was familiar with the journey to Highstones since her leader ceremony had taken her here only a short while ago, but this trip was still for an unrelated reason. After a few moments of walking with their paws trampling the plant life below, Daystar turned her head to glance over at the young she-cat beside her.

"Um... there are ceremonial words that I'm supposed to say, right? I'm afraid I have no idea what they are. I'd really hate to mess up such an important day for you." Daystar seemed distraught as her ears flattened against her head.
If she made even the slightest mistake, would StarClan even accept the apprentice that she presented before them?

“You can’t mess it up,” Henpaw assured Daystar, her step light and energetic. “You do your best, yeah? After all, Smallbean was never formally apprenticed and yet StarClan gave him visions and what-not. It’s just like a warrior ceremony, we just have to be next to the big glowy rock.” What a day. She was to take on full responsibility for her Clan’s well-being. Emotionally and physically. Stars, she was glad she wasn’t Daystar. She’d never be able to do that, finding mentors and new names and stuff. She didn’t care too much about the formality. StarClan knew they’d both do their best.

Daystar nodded in response to Henpaw's words. Although it was reassuring to hear that StarClan was more accepting than she thought, she still had no intention of making this ceremony poor for Henpaw. She supposed it was already unconventional due to the fact that she was here leading the ceremony instead of Smallbean himself though. The rest of the trip was rather quiet, but the leader was grateful for the time that she had to think silently to herself. While some cats disliked the quiet, she enjoyed simply spending time in the presence of her Clanmates, whether they were participating in peaceful conversation or no conversation at all.

The relief she felt when Highstones came into view crashed over her in waves, and she encouragingly glanced down at the apprentice at her side. Along the way, she had slightly pieced together what she was going to say. The words of a warrior ceremony were easy enough, so all she had to do was replace a few descriptions with those that a medicine cat would use. Now, all she had to worry about was not stuttering.

"After you." Daystar offered, flicking her tail toward Mothermouth with a small smile still plastered to her maw.

Henpaw walked beside Daystar in silence, occasionally breaking into a slight trot to keep up with the older molly’s long strides. It was nice to just have a moment before this life-changing ceremony. She’d get a new name, and… well, technically she’d already been doing all the medicine cat stuff for WindClan, but still. She didn’t understand Daystar’s worry. After all, she’d do her best, and that was all anycat could ask, right?

Highstones came slowly into view, and Henpaw picked up the pace, her paws quickening. Sometimes she liked to think she was descended from the mountain cats Thrushflight had told her stories of, that her bones ached to be clambering over rocks… and then she remembered heights. Yeah, no.

The calico nodded and headed into the Mothermouth, finding her way in the blind darkness by touch and memory alone. Her paws felt the grooves made by generation after generation of cats, medicine cats meeting at the half-moon, apprentices talking with StarClan, and leaders gaining their nine lives. Gradually, the light of the Moonstone came into view around a corner. Henpaw’s heart beat a little faster as they came into the cavern. It would never cease to amaze her.

Daystar followed after Henpaw as they padded through the darkness and headed toward the light at the end of the tunnel. She had only seen the Moonstone once before today, so when the gentle light of the revered rock came into view, she held her breath to prevent a gasp of shock from escaping her jaws. It was almost as if she was viewing it for the first time all over again. She longed to spend a few more moments basking in the sheer glory of the Moonstone, but they were here for a reason, and they didn't have time to waste.

"Okay, you ready?" Daystar asked, although, judging by how her paws were shuffling on the ground, it seemed as if she was asking herself for confirmation instead of Henpaw.

When the calico responded, the she-cat launched into the words that she had recited and rehearsed in her head during the trip.
"I, Daystar, leader of WindClan, call upon StarClan to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and I commend her to you as a... uh, a medicine cat in return." She began by slightly altering the typical words of a warrior ceremony.

After inwardly yelling at herself for the redundancy, the leader paused for a moment before continuing on in the most confident voice that she could muster.
"Henpaw, do you, um- do you promise to ignore Clan rivalries and maintain peace in order to protect all cats no matter of their origin, even at the cost of your life?"

The look in her eyes was apologetic as she awaited an answer, almost as if she was silently saying sorry for giving the apprentice such a messy ceremony.

Henpaw nodded emphatically. If she wasn’t ready she would’ve said so before they began the trek out here. Daystar’s words, although slightly… out of the norm, covered what a medicine cat did well. Stay apart from Clan rivalries? It’d be hard… an old memory of Beechface clamping her jaws down on Lilacstar’s scruff came to mind. Still… look where that landed her.

“I do.” It’d be hard, and she would always put her Clanmates above other cats, but she’d do it, to the best of her ability. A small spark of excitement wiggled its way inside her. She was becoming a real medicine cat. She’d be getting a new name!

Daystar gave Henpaw an approving smile before continuing.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your full medicine cat name. Henpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Hentooth. StarClan honors your confidence and loyalty."

A purr rumbled in the leaders throat at the newest medicine cat of WindClan was named. To her delight, that had gone smoother than what she had expected.
"Congratulations! I'm proud of you. It's time to speak with StarClan, now. I'll be here when you're done." The leader nodded her head toward the Moonstone before sitting down and wrapping her fluffy tail around her paws.

Henpaw grinned widely as Dayspring gave her the new name… Hentooth. A good name for a slightly awkward prefix… although hens didn’t have teeth, she doubted anyone outside of WindClan knew that.

The young medicine cat dipped her head to her leader before padding forwards and touching her nose to the  Moonstone. As usual, it was barely a heartbeat before she was standing in the plains of StarClan.

“Greetings, Hentooth,” Flarehawk purred, the grass parting before her as she stalked forwards. Her eyes shone fiercely in the starlight. “It is with pleasure that I tell you you have, indeed, earned your name. No matter how distant we seem, we are always by your side. Go forth to serve WindClan.”

“I shall.”